


What I Want and What I Need

by HeartInABoxx



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-12
Updated: 2013-10-12
Packaged: 2017-12-29 04:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1001030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartInABoxx/pseuds/HeartInABoxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holly takes Gail home. Set after 4X13. Rated T for now, but that may change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Holly watches from the driver’s seat of her car as Gail says goodbye to Chris, Steve and Traci, hugging each of them in turn. She exchanges a wave with them as Gail slides into the car; sighing heavily and leaning her head back against the headrest.  
“Did you want to go to the station first so you can change?” Holly asks her softly.  
Gail shakes her head immediately. “I don’t even care. I’m too tired.” She turns her head and stares at Holly silently for a long beat. She knows what she wants tonight. What she needs, but she isn’t sure she can say it.  
“Wanna come to mine?” Holly asks softly, reaching across the center console to take the blonde’s hand.  
Gail’s features slide into a grateful smile and she nods. “Please.”  
Holly squeezes her hand gently and releases it to put the car in drive.  
They’re quiet as they drive. The radio is on softly in the background and Gail is grateful for the quiet after the insanity of the day.  
It’s not long until the car pulls up into the driveway of a small house on a quiet street and Holly cuts the engine off and glances at her passenger, who appears lost in thought.  
“We’re only a few blocks from the Penny,” Gail muses absently.  
“Yep,” Holly says. Gail still doesn’t make any attempt to move. “You’re not gonna make me carry you in, are you?” she asks, a teasing grin quirking her lips.  
Gail cracks a smile, but instead of moving, stares at Holly again for a long moment. She licks her lips and hesitates before opening her mouth. “Thanks. For this. Especially after how I acted earlier. At the station.”  
Holly shakes her head, leaning over the console to kiss Gail softly, quickly. “That was my fault. You were at work. I was just worried.”  
Before either of them can say anything else, Holly is up and out of the car, moving to the passenger side to pull Gail’s door open for her. Holly slips the key into her front door, pushing it open and standing aside to let Gail enter first. Either it’s the shock of the day catching up to the blonde, or perhaps the sheer exhaustion finally overtaking her, but there are no smart-ass comments or snarky remarks that Holly had been expecting bringing Gail home for the first time.  
Holly steps into the living room, shrugging out of her coat and tossing it over the back of the couch. “Hungry?”  
Gail drops her coat next to Holly’s, considering the question. She shrugs rather helplessly. “I can’t tell.”  
Holly reaches out to cradle Gail’s face in her palms gently. She presses their lips together in a warm, soft kiss. “I’ll get you some comfies and make something to eat.”  
“Comfies?” Gail repeats, a tired, teasing smile quirking her lips. “Nerd.”  
Holly winks, pointing out a few rooms as she turns and walks out of the room. “Bathroom, that way. Kitchen, that way. Make yourself at home.”  
Instead of heading towards either of the rooms Holly just pointed out, Gail drops onto the couch, nearly moaning as she practically sinks into the cushions. She sits up long enough to remove her boots and collapses again. A minute later she hears a thump and there’s a pile of clothes next to her on the couch and she glances up in time to see Holly headed for the kitchen.

 

Once she’s changed, Gail joins Holly in the kitchen and takes a seat at the island, her stomach growling as soon as she smells the food.  
“Coffee or beer?” Holly asks as she flips a sandwich in the frying pan.  
“Beer,” Gail replies, letting her hand prop her head up as she watches Holly move around the kitchen.  
A bottle is set down in front of her and Gail pops the top and takes a long drink. Her eyes slip closed and she sighs happily. “Mmm, nothing like good beer.”  
“Especially at 2 a.m.” Holly turns to grab a few plates, setting them out next to the pan. She flips a sandwich on each one, cutting them both in half. “Grilled cheese.”  
Gail perks up at the food and she digs in immediately. Her eyes roll back in her head at the first bite. “Oh my God, this is amazing.”  
Holly smirks and flips the flat screen on, switching to a channel showing replays of the hockey game. “Damn Leafs,” she mutters as she slides up onto the counter and begins eating as well.  
Gail wants to tease her for the obvious cliché of being a lesbian and loving all things sporty, but she’s so damn tired, she can’t bring herself to do it. Especially with Holly driving her home and making her food and giving her good beer.  
“Do you have to go in tomorrow?” Holly asks, prying her eyes away from hockey recaps when the TV switches to commercials.  
“No,” Gail tells her, taking another drink of her beer. “What about you?”  
Holly shakes her head. “I’m off.” She moves to the coffee pot when it begins to beep and pours herself a mug, adding cream and sugar, and taking a sip.  
“That won’t keep you up?” Gail asks. She allows her eyes to sweep appreciatively over Holly’s form and she smiles when she thinks about how easy it was to introduce Holly to Chris and Steve in her own ‘Gail way’ earlier.  
Holly takes another sip and shakes her head, setting the mug down on the counter. “I drink so much that it barely registers.”  
Gail gives her a dubious look. “Aren’t you a doctor? Shouldn’t you know better or something?”  
Holly grins Gail’s favorite half-smile and shrugs. “Probably.” Her features soften as she gazes at Gail and how adorable she looks in her clothes. “I’m gonna change. Be right back. Help yourself to anything.”

 

When Holly returns, her hands are in her hair, pulling it back into a loose ponytail, and she’s only mildly annoyed that the only thing Gail seems to have helped herself to is the television remote. And she changed the channel from the hockey recaps.  
“When I said anything, I didn’t mean the TV remote,” Holly tells her, only kind of serious. She glances at the TV long enough to watch a series of video clips showing skateboarders busting their nuts. “What the hell are you watching?”  
Gail looks up, her mouth open and poised to retort, but it dies on her lips when she gets a good look at Holly, who’s dressed in loose sweats, rolled a few times and slung low on her hips, and a worn, comfy looking red plaid shirt only buttoned about three times, and with her hands pulling her hair back, Gail gets quite a view of Holly’s tan, taught tummy.  
Gail has an inkling that this outfit is entirely deliberate and she’s completely willing to admit that whatever reaction Holly was hoping to elicit, she just succeeded. Because when Gail finally meets Holly’s eyes, she’s smirking, and it makes her roll her eyes, because she knows that particular point just went to Holly’s scorecard.  
“Want another beer?” Holly asks, letting Gail off the hook for the moment.  
Gail perches her chin on her hand and leans on the island. “You totally have that hot librarian thing going on.”  
Holly pulls another beer from the fridge and pops the top, sliding it over the dark marble counter. “Thanks? I think?”  
“Trying to get me drunk, Hol?” Gail asks playfully. “So you can have your way with me?”  
Holly’s face suddenly shifts, her gaze turning smoldering on a dime. She reaches up to pull her glasses from her face and sets them on the counter. Next, she reaches up to remove the elastic holding her hair back and she shakes her hair out dramatically, her gaze never leaving Gail’s rapidly widening eyes. She leans over the counter, giving the blonde quite the view, and her voice drops nearly an octave. “Trust me, if I ever ‘have my way with you’, I’ll want you completely clear-headed, so you remember every which way I make you come undone.”  
Holly grins at the completely stunned expression on Gail’s face, noting happily the way Gail’s pupils blew wide open with her little display. “Drink your beer,” she orders gently. “I’m tired.”  
Gail is practically sputtering and she can’t for the life of her deny the way her body responded to the little show Holly just put on and she certainly can’t ignore the way her heart hammered in her chest with Holly’s words.  
And just like that it’s Gail-0, Holly-2.  
Gail watches as Holly flips her head over to pull her hair back again and replaces her glasses and she suddenly feels the need to clear something up. “Holly?”  
“Hmm?”  
Gail is silent for so long that Holly moves around the island, tugging at the blonde’s knees to turn her around on the stool to face her. She drops a hand to each of Gail’s legs, smiling a little when her knees part enough that Holly can stand between them. “What’s up?” She leans forward to press a quick kiss to Gail’s forehead.  
It’s startling how quickly Holly shifts from smoldering to soft and comforting, but it gives Gail tingles to think about how rare it is to find someone who can so completely be both of those things to her.  
“This isn’t a phase, or a rebound,” Gail tells her softly. She meets dark eyes watching her carefully. “I want this. I want you.”  
Holly searches her eyes for something, and whatever it is that she seems to be looking for, she apparently finds, because she’s leaning in again. This time the kiss is slow and deliberate, telling Gail everything she needs to know about how Holly feels about her little confession.  
Gail’s hands drop to Holly’s hips as the kiss deepens between them, and her hands hesitate for only a moment before they slide under her shirt and around her waist, one palming the base of the brunette’s spine and the other sliding up her back to hold her close.  
“Mmm,” Holly hums appreciatively as she pulls back. “That beer tastes really good on you.”  
Gail sucks in a shuddery breath. “You can’t say things like that to me when you’re wearing this and looking like you look.”  
Holly is smirking again and she leans back just a bit, but not moving from between Gail’s knees. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
Gail’s eyes narrow for a moment. “Sure you don’t.” She’s suddenly yawning and again she’s struck by how tired she is. But even as tired as she is, she doesn’t want this to end. It’s all so easy in this moment. She’s safe and comfortable and she’s scared to death that if she goes to sleep and lets this end, she’ll wake up in the morning and the spell will be broken and things with Holly will get awkward or will never go back to being this easy.  
Holly reaches out for Gail’s hand, pulling her up from her seat. “Come on. I’ll get you settled and then take care of all this.”  
Holly pulls her through the house and finally comes to a stop in her bedroom. She flips on a small lamp on the bedside table and pulls back the blankets, gesturing for Gail to get in. “You can have my bed. I’ll take the futon in my office across the hall.”  
Gail begins to protest immediately, but she climbs in the bed just the same. “You did hear me in the kitchen, right? I wasn’t speaking for the sake of speaking. That’s really more your thing.”  
Holly rolls her eyes playfully at the sarcasm coming from the blonde as she pulls the blankets up around her. “You’re hilarious.”  
“I meant what I said,” Gail tells her quietly.  
Holly nods and perches on the edge of the bed, smiling when Gail turns on her side and kind of curls around her. “I know. But this is still kind of new, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I can get into this bed with you and keep my hands to myself.”  
Gail thinks it’s entirely unfair for Holly to be so ridiculously hot in a moment when she’s clearly trying so hard to protect Gail’s virtue. “Maybe I don’t want you to.” She shrugs and reaches a hand out and tangles it in Holly’s shirt. “I’m not saying I’m ready for everything yet, but I know I’m ready for something.”  
Holly gazes at her for a few long moments, finally leaning forward to kiss Gail softly, but pulls back before it can get too involved. When Gail opens her mouth to protest, Holly smiles. “I just want to clean up the kitchen a bit. And you really need to sleep.”  
Gail’s lips turn down into a rather adorable pout and Holly laughs, leaning forward to press a kiss to her bottom lip. “Poor baby. I’ll only be a few minutes.”  
“But you’ll stay?” Gail asks, suffering from a moment of rare vulnerability. “Here? With me?”  
Holly smiles softly, nodding and kissing her again. “Five minutes. Go to sleep, sweetie.”  
Gail’s stomach twists pleasantly at the term of endearment. She’s never really been a fan of them, but it seems fitting coming from Holly in that moment. “Okay.”  
She’s barely awake when Holly climbs into bed a few minutes later, but she’s awake enough to roll over to her back long enough to grasp Holly’s arm so she can roll back over and have Holly spooning her comfortably. Only when soft curves are pressed against her and warm breath is ghosting over the back of her neck is she comfortable enough to fall asleep completely.


	2. Chapter 2

Gail wakes with a start, a scream dying in her throat when she realizes that she’s safe, not lying on a table in the basement of some house, or tied up in the trunk of a car. Her hands move before she can even process what they’re doing: checking her forehead for blood, or moving freely enough to prove they’re not chained up or zip tied together.  
That’s when she realizes she has no idea where the hell she is.  
It only takes a moment to figure that particular part out as she turns her head to find Holly slumbering peacefully next to her.  
Gail moves herself into a seated position, desperately trying to keep from waking Holly up. She gets up and quietly makes her way out of the room, heading first to the kitchen. She peeks into a few cabinets until she finds a glass and pours herself some water, sipping it slowly as she tries to talk herself out of the nightmare that she hadn’t had in months.  
She remembers being completely overwhelmed by the absolute darkness of the blindfolds and the pain of the cuffs and the zip ties around her wrists. She remembers the headaches from the concussion, the confusing in and out of the drugs, and the way the dried blood made her face itch.  
She leans heavily against the marble countertop of the kitchen island as she tries to take in a few slow, steady breaths to calm her racing heart. She hates not only that she had this dream again at all, but especially that she had to have it while she was in bed with Holly.  
She knows Holly worries enough about her safety on the job, but if she finds out about the nightmares she suffers sometimes because of the things she sees on the job, Holly will not only have her physical safety in mind, but her emotional safety as well. And Gail really doesn’t want her worrying any more about her.  
Gail moves to the living room and checks her phone, noting a message from Traci to let her know there’s been no change with anyone at the hospital. She gets settled into the plush, comfortable couch as she begins flipping through the channels on the television. She finally settles on MTV and her favorite mindless show: ridiculousness. She needs something stupid and silly to take her mind off her abduction, and watching a constant flow of people doing stupid shit has her feeling better almost immediately.

XX

“Gail?”  
Gail glances up, only slightly startled to find Holly shuffling into the living room, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Her shirt rides up when she stretches, and her sweats are slung even lower on her hips, giving Gail quite a view of her midsection (and her pink and white striped panties), and she can’t for the life of her tear her gaze away from Holly’s stomach and the bumps of her hip bones. She feels a rush of heat sweep over her in that moment and she realizes the more time she spends with Holly, the more she realizes that she’s really attracted to her.  
“What’s wrong?”   
“Did I wake you?” Gail asks in leiu of answering.  
Holly shakes her head, but remains quiet, shuffling over to the couch. “Any room for me?” she asks, her voice raspy, but playful.  
Gail stares up at her, taking in how beautiful Holly looks, in her comfy clothes and sleep-tousled hair, and she scoots over enough to give her the inside spot lying beside her.  
Holly presses one knee and one hand into the edge of the couch and places the others on the other side of Gail so she can wedge herself between her and the back of the couch. She hovers over Gail for a moment, pausing briefly to gaze down at the sleepy woman below her. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about having Gail in this exact position and it makes her smirk, but she notices the cloudy fear in those striking blue eyes and it twists at her heart.  
Holly lowers herself down, making herself comfortable, dropping her head to Gail’s shoulder and wrapping an arm around her. “We tell each other stuff, right?” She covers her mouth as a yawn takes over and she reaches to pull the blanket hanging over the back of the couch over the two of them.  
Gail turns her head, studying the brunette with tired eyes and she nods wordlessly. She knows this is Holly’s way of not so subtly asking her why she’s up watching some dumb ass show in the middle of the night instead of sleeping after the day they’ve had. She shifts so she can wrap both arms around Holly and if it hadn’t been so quiet, Holly would have missed the content sigh from the blonde in that moment.  
“I’m guessing by the way you’re cuddling me right now that it wasn’t sharing a bed with me that has you out here,” Holly says softly.  
Gail scoffs. “Don’t be stupid. Of course not.” She thinks back to how nice it was to be snuggled together under the blankets in Holly’s huge, comfortable bed. She lets one hand slide under the back of Holly’s shirt, running the pads of her fingers over the soft notches of her spine.  
Holly sighs happily and her hand slides across the flat plane of Gail’s stomach and she slides her fingers under her shirt to rest against the curve of her hip. “What’s on your mind?”  
Gail is silent for a while. She inhales a deep breath and lets it out slowly, letting her legs tangle with Holly’s, finding that she really likes cuddling with someone more her own size, who’s soft and curvy in all the right places. “I was abducted once.”  
Holly feels her stomach roll uncomfortably at the admission and she squeezes Gail a little tighter.  
“I was undercover and we were after a serial killer,” Gail continues softly when Holly remains silent. “He was posing as a cab driver, and he followed me upstairs and attacked me and sedated me, then he kept me in his basement blindfolded and drugged and chained to a table.” She wisely decides to leave out the part about being choked unconscious, knowing that would probably only make things worse for Holly.  
“Oh my God,” Holly breathes. She shudders before she can even try to stop it and she feels Gail squeeze her a little tighter.  
Gail thinks about the fact that Oliver had been locked in the trunk of his cruiser at some point and she inhales a shaky breath. “One of the detectives showed up at the guy’s house, so he drugged me and stuffed me in the trunk. That’s where they found me.” This time she leaves out the fact that Jerry died saving her and she glances up at the dark eyes watching her and she frowns. “I didn’t tell you this so you’d worry more.”  
“Too late,” Holly admits softly.  
Gail shifts her body a bit so it’s a bit easier to press her lips to Holly’s in a slow, comforting kiss. “I’m sorry,” she says softly.  
Holly shakes her head and steals another lingering kiss. “Did you have a nightmare?” It’s not exactly what she intended to say, but it really isn’t the time to go into how much she hates the danger that Gail’s job puts her in.  
“He forced Oliver into the trunk of his cruiser,” Gail says by way of explaining.  
“Are you okay?” Holly whispers. She props herself up on her elbow so she can gaze down at Gail again and she brushes a few errant strands of hair behind her ear, letting her palm linger on her cheek.  
Gail simply yawns, snuggling herself into Holly a little tighter, making the brunette smile and squeeze her gently. “You can distract if you want.”  
Holly grins and gets herself off the couch in much the same way she got herself on to it, hovering over the blonde and lingering just long enough to kiss her. She rises to her full height and holds her hands out to pull Gail slowly to her feet.  
Holly reaches for the remote and clicks the TV off, leading them both back to the bedroom. Gail flops down into bed, rolling on her back and reaching for Holly to pull her down on top of her.  
Holly finds herself settled comfortably between Gail’s legs and she shudders for a totally different reason when legs wrap around her waist and arms circle her and pull her closer.  
Holly felt something shift inside her a few minutes ago on the couch. She’s always hyper-aware of the danger Gail faces on a daily basis, but for some reason hearing about Gail being abducted has her feeling even more like she should seize every single moment with her that she can.  
Holly had intended to take the physical side of their relationship painfully slow. She remembers what it was like to be with a woman for the first time and she wants to make absolutely sure that Gail is ready before they take that step. But then came the conversation five minutes ago, and she’s completely rethinking her entire game plan.  
She feels Gail’s hand tug gently at the tie holding her hair back and it falls in a curtain around them, hiding them both from the world. Hands are tangled in her hair suddenly, pulling her closer, and Holly shifts so her lips can press against the hollow of Gail’s throat. One hand slips under the faded tee shirt Gail’s wearing and she hears the blonde suck in a sharp breath when her fingers dance up Gail’s ribs and tease the underside of her breast.  
Holly glances up, looking to see if she’s possibly gone too far, but Gail’s head is thrown back, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. She trails several soft kisses up the side of Gail’s neck, paying particular attention to a spot below Gail’s ear when she hears her gasp as she palms her breast fully, smirking when Gail groans.  
Gail’s hands are working at the three small buttons holding her shirt together and once they’ve been released, Gail pushes it down her shoulders with one hand as the other settles at the nape of Holly’s neck, pulling her forward in a kiss that turns heated quickly.   
When Gail’s hips suddenly roll into her own, Holly knows that she needs to slow way down.   
“No, come back,” Gail practically whines when Holly pulls away from her.  
Holly drops her forehead to Gail’s chest, shaking it gently. “Gail, we can’t. Not tonight.”  
“Holly,” Gail does whine this time. “You can’t kiss me like that, and touch me like that and then just stop.”  
Holly exhales a shuddery breath and lifts her head to press a chaste kiss to already kiss-swollen lips. “Gail, if things go any further, I won’t be able to stop. And we both really need to get some sleep. It’s already after four.”  
“My brain understands the words coming out of your mouth,” Gail sighs, knowing Holly’s right. “But my body has other ideas.”  
Holly rolls off the body below hers and rolls to her back, pulling her shirt closed enough that she can button the two buttons covering her chest, but she allows the shirt to remain splayed open over her stomach, entirely too focused on clamping down on her hormones.  
Gail smirks, rolling to her side, propping her head up in her hand. She reaches out with her left hand, letting it dance across the smooth plane of Holly’s stomach. She traces the dip of her hip bones and lets her hand slide over the soft curve of her hip. She can still feel her body practically humming for Holly’s touch and she knows that touching Holly like this won’t really help with that much, but she can’t seem to help it.  
“You’re beautiful,” Gail whispers.  
Holly’s head turns and her lips curve into a soft smile. She reaches out to grasp the hand gliding over her abdomen and she lifts it to her lips, kissing each fingertip in turn. “Sleep, Gail.”  
Gail rolls her eyes over-dramatically and flops back to the bed, rolling away from Holly and waiting patiently for arms to circle her from behind.  
Holly’s right hand sweeps pale locks aside so she can press her lips to the back of Gail’s neck softly.  
Gail’s head turns enough that she can see Holly in her peripheral vision. “I’m warning you right now. Kissing me right there is the absolute quickest way into my pants, so unless you want me to ignore the last shred of self control I have left, I suggest you stop.”  
Holly laughs and squeezes her tightly, scooting forward to kiss Gail’s cheek. “Sorry. Sleep now, I swear.”  
“Uh huh,” Gail replies. “Seems I’ve heard that before.”

XX

“Ugh.”  
Holly’s attention shifts from the television to the girl using her legs as a pillow, noticing Gail’s attention is on the cell phone in her hand. “Problem?”  
“My mother,” Gail grumbles, answering the call. “Hi, mom.”  
Holly turns back to the television, barely registering most of what’s being said on Gail’s end, noting that she doesn’t sound happy at all to be talking to her mother. Her right hand resumes running gently through the pale locks splayed out across her lap as her left settles on Gail’s stomach.  
“No, I’m not going on any more blind dates,” Gail is saying, her eyes rolling. “Because I’m…” she hesitates, turning her head and meeting Holly’s eyes briefly. “I’m already dating someone.”  
Holly feels a warm rush low in her belly and then the heat rises to her face and she can’t help but smile. She feels Gail’s eyes on her and when she looks back to the blonde, she’s smiling rather bashfully, and to Holly it’s probably the most adorable thing she’s ever seen.  
“No, mom.” Gail sighs, reaching her free hand out to trace the shape of Holly’s hand settled on her belly. Blue eyes roll dramatically. “Yes.”  
Holly listens a bit more intently now, wondering if Gail’s gonna drop the bomb on her mother over the phone or not.  
“Her name is Holly Stewart,” Gail says, glancing Holly’s way long enough to wink, a smirk growing on her face. It’s quickly replaced by a scowl. “Fine. But can Steve and Traci be there too? Okay, I’ll ask.” There’s a pause. “Bye.”  
Gail’s eyes clamp shut for a moment, and she breathes deeply. She finally turns the ringer on her phone off and drops it to the floor next to her, turning her gaze up towards Holly. “Mom wants to meet you. She invited us to dinner.”  
Holly lets out a snort of laughter. “I seriously can’t believe you told your mother over the phone.”  
“She doesn’t care,” Gail dismisses with a wave and reaches for her phone again, her eyes focused on it as she frantically types out a text message that Holly can only assume is to either Steve or Traci. “I’m surprised she remembers my name most days. I’m not a detective and haven’t done anything to bring the Peck name any notoriety, unlike my golden-child brother. I’m just the idiot cop that got kidnapped by a serial killer.” Gail glances up and rolls her eyes, but smiles playfully. Or tries too. It doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “She’ll love you. You’re a doctor.”  
Holly can see right through Gail’s attempt at trying to play off the fact that she thinks her mom thinks more of Steve than her, but she can tell that she’s hurt by it. It makes her want to hug Gail and punch her mother in the face. “Forget her. I don’t know how much it means, but I totally prefer you to your brother.” She means the words to be playful, trying to get Gail to smile for real, but she can’t help the emotion that bleeds into the words, coloring them instantly.  
Gail glances up and sees Holly gazing at her sort of lovingly and before she realizes it, she’s dropping her phone to the table and sitting up. She pivots her body and drops a knee to either side of Holly’s outstretched legs, straddling her comfortably. Her arms wrap loosely around the brunette’s neck and she leans in for a long, lingering kiss. “It sort of means everything.”

XX

“Hello?” Gail answers breathlessly, a giggle escaping her before she can help it. Holly is laughing from across the kitchen and it bleeds into the phone.  
“Gail?” It’s Traci. “Why are you out of breath? Oh God, did I interrupt something? I’m sorry! Why would you even pick up the pho-”  
“Traci!” Gail cuts her off before she says something that will embarrass both of them. “I was just goofing off. You didn’t interrupt anything.”  
Holly shoots her a questioning look accompanied by a grin and Gail waves her off playfully. She turns her back to the brunette, knowing one glance at her will set off another wave of laughter.   
“What’s up?” Gail asks.  
“Well,” Traci sighs. “Chloe’s ass of a husband still won’t let Dov into the hospital room with her, and Andy and Oliver need a drink. We’re meeting at the Penny in an hour. Wanna join us? Bring Holly.”  
Gail can hear something in her voice and her eyes narrow. “And just how much do you know about that?” Her eyes trail Holly as the brunette pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and hops up to sit on the counter across from her.  
Traci laughs. “Your mom called Steve and asked us to dinner so she could meet your new girlfriend.”  
Gail sighs, her eyes rolling. “I swear, if she outs me to everyone I’ve ever met, I’ll be pissed.” She makes her way across the kitchen to stand between Holly’s knees, smirking when Holly’s ankles cross behind her back, keeping her in place.  
“Why?” Traci asks. “No one cares if you’re dating a woman.”  
“It’s not that. I know no one cares,” Gail tells her, one hand reaching out to smooth over Holly’s thigh. “But knowing her, she’ll try to use this for her bullshit politics somehow.” She smiles when lips press softly against her forehead. Her eyes rise to meet Holly’s and she’s struck by her beauty and actually finds herself feeling more than a little smitten.  
“Sorry, Gail,” Traci tells her. “So, are you two gonna join us?”  
Gail considers this for a moment. “Andy’s going?”  
Suddenly it’s Traci’s turn to sigh. “Gail, I know what she did was wrong, but it sort of ended up working out for you in the long run. You have Holly and you seem really happy lately and I’m sure she has something to do with that. Oliver got kidnapped and Sam got shot and Chloe might not make it. You need to forgive her. Life’s too short.”  
Gail thinks about this and realizes that Traci’s right and she sighs, covering the mouthpiece of her phone to address Holly. “Wanna meet the Scoobies at the Penny in an hour?”  
Holly smirks at the nerd reference and nods. “Sounds good.”  
Gail nods, uncovering the phone. “See you guys there.”  
Once they hang up, Gail sits staring at her phone for a minute. She glances up to find Holly watching her.  
“Was Andy the one that day at the hospital?” Holly asks, thinking back to the conversation she witnessed from afar, unable to hear the words, but reading the body language well enough to know something had gone down between the two of them.  
Gail nods, thinking quietly for a moment, her eyes on her hands as they draw random patterns on the jeans covering Holly’s legs.   
“I wanted to kiss you that day,” Holly admits.  
Gail looks up, a shy smile on her face. “Really? I was high as hell, how was that even remotely attractive?”  
Holly’s smile is fond, if a little sad as she remembers that day. “I watched you in the hall and you looked like you were trying so hard not to cry. I just wanted to hug you and kiss away your frown.”  
“Promise me something?” She glances up and sees Holly patiently waiting for her to continue. “Just promise me that if you ever feel like you want to cheat on me, you’ll just break up with me first.”  
“Gail-”  
“Please, Holly,” Gail begs, cutting her off.  
Holly thinks it’s a little absurd to be talking about cheating and breaking up when they sort of just made things official that morning, but she nods anyways, sensing Gail needs her to answer, even though she, herself, thinks that’s sort of a given. “I promise.”  
Gail leans up on her tiptoes and kisses her. “Thanks.” She shakes off the serious and grins. “Now as much as I’d like to borrow some fleece, I think I’d like to wear my own clothes to the bar. Think you can drive me home?”  
Holly places her hands over Gail’s, stilling them on her legs. “Why don’t you take my car home, we can both get ready, then you can drive back here so we won’t have to drive tonight.”  
Gail feels that warm feeling flutter in her chest again. “You want me to stay again?”  
Holly shrugs, but the look in her eye says she’s anything but indifferent. “If you want.”  
“I want.” Gail nods, kissing her again. “I know I give you all kinds of shit, but you’re kind of awesome.”  
Holly smiles crookedly. “I know.”


	3. Chapter 3

A little over an hour and a half later, Holly holds the door of the Penny open so Gail can enter before her. They’re huddled together as they walk in, giggling about something stupid, Gail’s arm looped through Holly’s, and when Gail looks up to look for her friends, she finds them all at a few pushed together tables watching them with either curious or amused smiles.  
“What?” Gail demands immediately. “I know we’re hot together, but there’s no need to stare.”  
Gail has never been much of a hugger (a few special occasions are the obvious exception, of course). Holly is really the only current exception. But she only puts up mild protests as everyone hugs her in turn. They’re all feeling a little grateful, not only for their own safety, but for that of the ones around them in that moment, so they’re all a little more emotional than usual.  
“You’re late,” Traci tells her pointedly when she wraps her arms around Gail.  
Gail shrugs, unable to hide her smirk, thinking back to exactly why they’re late. She discovered the fun of getting ready with another girl – or specifically a girl you’re dating. She’d arrived back at Holly’s early and lounged on the bed while Holly tried on several items of clothing, content to distract her whenever possible – and usually when she was missing one item of clothing or another.  
Forget being late, she’s honestly surprised they made it out.  
Once Gail has introduced Holly to everyone, they all split up a bit. Holly gets drinks and gets pulled into a conversation nearby with Andy, Traci and Steve, and Gail finds herself at a table with Oliver and Celery listening to her go on about her love spells, and she really only briefly wonders if Oliver was on the receiving end of one of those spells. But he seems so happy she dismisses the thought immediately, causing her to seriously question if she’s growing as a person.  
Before she can panic at that particular thought, she takes three back to back shots with Diaz when he starts getting misty about missing Christian and it seems like all is right in the world again.  
Gail finds her gaze seeking out Holly most of the night. Watching her pull an obviously distraught Dov into a game of darts with her and Chris, and making him smile on several occasions. Watching her chat with Traci and Nick when it’s not her turn to throw.   
She and Holly exchange several not-so-covert smiles and smoldering glances, that she knows everyone in the room notices, but have the good grace not to mention, and she’s suddenly wishing she’s anywhere even remotely private with Holly so she can properly kiss the knowing smirk off her face.  
Ten minutes later she does just that.  
Holly has her pressed against the wall in a dark corner, out of the way of the normal foot traffic so they don’t get interrupted, and Gail isn’t sure she’s ever been kissed like this before.  
She feels dizzy and off-kilter, buzzing hard and so high on Holly.   
“Is it time to go yet?” Gail asks against her lips.  
Holly smirks, nudging Gail’s head to the side so she can press her lips to her neck. “We just got here. I haven’t even beaten you at darts yet. And Traci mentioned something about you and karaoke.”  
That one word is like a bucket of ice over Gail’s head, and she tries to pull away, but Holly holds her close. “No way.”  
Holly hums against her neck. “Maybe not tonight, but I’ll get you to sing at some point.”  
Gail huffs a sigh and pushes off the wall, moving Holly with the momentum of her body. She grabs her hand and pulls her back to the group. “Way to kill the mood, babe.”

XX

“I had a dream about it last night.”  
Gail looks up and finds Andy standing next to her, looking like a puppy that’s afraid it’s about to be kicked. She thinks back to her phone conversation with Traci and after a rather short deliberation, decides to take her advice.  
“About what?”  
Andy seems to take those two words as an invitation to sit down at the table with her, placing her beer on the tabletop. She begins to pick at the label. “About Perik. And you.”  
Gail nods slowly, downing the rest of her drink. Her eyes scan the crowd until they land on Holly playing darts with Steve and Oliver. “I did too.”  
Andy follows her line of sight for a moment before she studies Gail’s expression. “Are you and Holly together?”  
Icy blue eyes land on her and Andy visibly gulps. “I’d probably divulge that information to a friend, but you haven’t even apologized to me.”  
“I tried!” Andy exclaims, causing several people around them to look their way, making Gail roll her eyes, and Andy lower her voice. “But you were high as a kite and freaking out about that little elephant.”  
An involuntary shudder rips through Gail’s frame, remembering that stupid, pink toy. It had seriously freaked her out. “You do realize that I can’t forgive you if you don’t actually apologize.”  
The corner of Andy’s lips twitch. “Gail, I’m sorry. I broke the code and it was even more stupid of me because I think I knew deep down that it would never last because of the way I feel about Sam. I jeopardized our friendship for nothing and I’m really, really sorry.”  
Gail lets out an overly dramatic sigh, but she the corners of her lips tug upwards just a little. “Forgiven.”  
Andy grins and pulls Gail into a hug.   
“I swear I told you once before that hugging isn’t exactly how I communicate,” Gail reminds her, but she wraps her arms around Andy and squeezes her tightly, knowing it must be hell to have someone you care about lying in a hospital bed and not being able to see them.   
Andy pulls back and smiles a little because she’s really glad the two of them are on good ground again, and because she actually kind of loves it when she’s around to witness Gail Peck being even remotely sweet.   
Plus she’s a really good hugger.   
“Okay, enough.” Gail rolls her eyes and glares about as hard as she can in the moment, which admittedly isn’t worth much at the moment because she’s sort of insanely happy. “How is Sam?”  
“Still in the ICU, only family allowed in. No change.”  
“He’ll be okay,” Gail tells her, ignoring the way Traci is grinning at them over Andy’s shoulder. “You two are way too made for each other for things to end any other way than finally getting together for real so you can annoy the rest of us with how sickeningly sweet you are together.”  
“Thanks, Gail.” Andy pulls her into a much quicker hug this time, knowing she probably won’t get away with this one. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”  
“If you get mushy, I’ll shoot you myself so you two can have side by side beds,” Gail tells her as she’s released from the hug. “Don’t even think about crying on me.”  
“I take it back. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Andy grabs her beer, standing up from the table. “Oh, and by the way, Holly is really hot. Nice job.”  
Gail honestly can’t help the smile that tugs at the corners of her lips. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”  
Andy winks. “Since she picked you up at the hospital. No one looks at someone the way she looked at you without some kind of feelings being involved. And the way you looked at her when you came in here…it’s kind of obvious you’re crazy about her.”  
Before Gail can respond, Andy is gone and headed in Traci’s direction. The table isn’t unoccupied for long as Holly slides up beside her and sets four shots on the table before she wraps an arm around her middle. “Everything okay?”  
Gail leans in to kiss her quickly. “All is well.”   
They each pick up a glass and shoot the tequila quickly, taking the second quickly.  
“Mmm, thanks,” Gail says.  
Holly runs a hand over Gail’s hair affectionately. She’s warm and buzzed and ridiculously happy in that moment. “Well, I’ve had Traci and Chris both give me the ‘if you hurt her’ speech. So I had to assure them that your heart is safe with me.”  
“They’re all talk,” Gail assures her with a grin, feeling a little loved, knowing no one would give Holly that speech unless they really cared about her.  
“Maybe,” Holly says, shrugging. “But they both own guns, so I’ll take their word over yours in this case.”  
Gail feels a warmth suddenly consume her from the inside. She faintly recognizes the feeling as happiness. She hates that Chloe and Sam are still in serious condition in the hospital a few miles away, but she and Holly are stable and in a really good place, she and Andy are good, Traci and Steve are happy, and her two boys care about her. Plus, she gets to go home with this beautiful creature that crashed into her life and turned it upside down in the best possible way.  
Holly seems to sense the change in Gail and smiles questioningly when she doesn’t say anything. “What?”  
Gail shakes her head. “I’m just really happy.”  
Holly can’t help herself and she leans forward to kiss Gail slowly, softly, cradling her face gently in her palms. She grins into the kiss when Gail’s hands fist in her shirt to keep her close.  
“Get a room!” Traci yells with a wide grin.  
Gail leans back from Holly and flips her the bird, choosing to ignore the rest of her friends are grinning at her, before grabbing Holly’s hand and tugging her towards the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”


End file.
